Bo Nix on why he isn’t running: ‘Y’all want me with the ball or RJ with the ball?’

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix has 25 rushing yards and one touchdown on 14 carries through four games — his ground gains have been way down through a month

BY JAKE SHAPIRO

Oct 7, 2026, 4:43 PM

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Watch: Should Sean Payton take back play-calling to unlock Bo Nix and the Broncos? | Shapiro and Piro | 24 mins

Bo Nix answered the question about his rushing numbers with a question of his own.

“Y’all want me with the ball or RJ (Harvey) with the ball?” the Denver Broncos quarterback asked reporters after practice Wednesday. “RJ. No, don’t hesitate, don’t think twice about it. Y’all want RJ with the football.”

This scribe would say: ¿Por que no los dos?

Nix has 25 rushing yards and one touchdown on 14 carries through four games. At this point last season, he had 78 yards on 25 carries. As a rookie, he had 110 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.

He ran twice for 10 yards in Sunday’s 24-14 loss at San Francisco. Harvey caught all 10 passes thrown to him for 68 yards and added 25 yards on seven carries. The second year running back has been decent but not impressive as Denver’s backfield has turned into a three-man rotation with veteran J.K. Dobbins and rookie Jonah Coleman, who is currently injured.

Nix said the drop in his rushing numbers shows how much he has grown as a player, and that his ankle has nothing to do with it.

“I think because I’m seeing the field better, and I know where my outlets are, and I’m getting to them faster,” Nix said. “And I think that’s just a product of being in the system for three years and understanding.”

‘My GPS numbers … are telling me that’

Nix’s right ankle has been under a microscope since January. He broke it on Denver’s winning drive in the divisional round against Buffalo, missed the AFC championship game and had two offseason surgeries. During Sunday’s broadcast, CBS reported that he still deals with some swelling and stiffness after activity and flights.

Nix said the data says he is fine.

“I love running the football. I feel great. I’m healthy. I feel as good as I felt in a long time,” he said. “And honestly, my GPS numbers during games are telling me that. So I’m really excited about that.”

He said he will be “extremely confident when my time comes to pull it down and run.”

When he does run depends on the play and the opponent, Nix said. It also depends on how fast he finds the open receiver.

“Sometimes I get back and I have good vision and the ball is supposed to go to RJ quickly,” Nix said. “And sometimes I have bad vision and that’s when I’ve got to escape and scramble, because it’s just on me. And sometimes I have good vision and still scramble.”

“Listen, if I had a genie who could tell you exactly what the play was about to be, I would just be unbelievable,” he added.

Nix is still searching for the balance between aggressive and careful. So far this season, he has leaned careful.

“As soon as you make one throw and it’s picked, then you made a bad decision,” he said. “As soon as you make one and you rip it and you’re like, well, I fit it in there, but it probably wasn’t smart, well, then you’re considered lucky or you’re a gunslinger.”

For better or worse, Nix isn’t worried about chucking it deep right now. His focus is on staying on schedule, like the league’s most successful quarterbacks.

“They just take completions, they keep the ball moving, they have less footballs on the ground,” Nix said. “In this day and age, in our offense, I don’t have to be a hero on every play. … Get the ball to RJ, and he’ll run for 20. That’s just as good as sometimes throwing it 20 yards in the air.”

There has been plenty of check-down talk this week, even if Nix has blocked it out. And he knows the conservative approach is costing him at times.

“Sometimes you miss one. You’re like, man, that first-and-20, I was a little too safe,” he said. “But at the same time, if I’m dumb and I do something stupid, then y’all are killing me because I didn’t take the field goal.”

He said he would run as often as needed.

“If that’s me running 20 times a game, let’s do it,” Nix said. “But right now, I don’t think that’s most beneficial for us.”

The Broncos (2-2) visit the winless Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.